


Freedom

by bandedbulbussnarfblat



Category: Christian Bible, Christian Bible (Old Testament)
Genre: Blasphemy, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:41:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27827683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bandedbulbussnarfblat/pseuds/bandedbulbussnarfblat
Summary: What if the snake loved Eve?
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9





	Freedom

What if the snake loved Eve?

What if it slithered into the Garden and watched her and _saw?_ Saw someone made to be a partner and a helper, but never an equal, saw someone made from man, not from dust and earth like man himself. And wouldn't he know, what it was like to be a part of something that loved you, but only so long as you lay under it, never beside it, never equal to it. Made from and part of , but not the same.

The snake would see Eve; Eve who never heard the command to not eat from the tree from God, only had it repeated to her by Adam. And why shouldn't she? She was made to serve, to please. As if happiness could be found in service. He would look and see the longing for more in her eyes, the yearning for something else, even in paradise. Because a prison is a prison, no matter how pretty.

He would see the hunger for more and he'd offer it. Eat the forbidden fruit and become like god. Have knowledge and power. (Because weren't they the same in the end?) To know is to be free. Oh, it would hurt, yes, the way knowing always does, but freedom comes with a price. And what will it cost? Everything. But what was losing paradise when the whole world could be gained? It was an offer made of love, not deceit. Taste the fruit and be free.

And once Eve knew, once her eyes were open, she knew the only thing to do was to share it with Adam, the way knowledge is meant to be shared. Not from love, but because it was right, because everyone deserved the right to choose. Ignorance may be bliss for him, but there could be so much more than simple bliss.

When they were kicked out of the Garden, Eve felt fear for the first time in her life. Fear, and relief, and anger, and scorn, and rage, because what sort of god plants temptation in front of you and punishes you for yielding? What sort of god punishes for knowledge? Why should blind obedience be expected?

The snake watched as the gate closed on the Garden, shutting out Adam and Eve. Eve caught his eye and smiled, and for the first time, she looked free. Whatever punishment he was dealt would be worth it in the end. He'd saved her from her prison. The world was hers to make her own, to find and shape in her own image.

What if the snake loved Eve?


End file.
